Randall Caselman Bella Vista Church of Christ May 27, 2001 a.m.
A Memorial Day Message From Mars Hill
Reading - Acts 17.16-33
John R.W. Stott, in his book... The Spirit - The Church - And The World writes... There is something enthralling about Paul being in Athens Greece. Here we have the greatest Christian disciple... and Apostle ever... amid the glories of the greatest city in the ancient world. -Paul in Athens... -Paul on Mars Hill... -Paul addressing the Areopagus. This is exciting... This is white water stuff.
Church... If you were asked... If you were invited to speak to the greatest body of men anywhere in all the world... What would you say? What would you talk about? Where would you start? What points would you want to make? This is exactly what Paul grapples with as he prepares for this infamous speech.
The Areopagus was made up of both Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. They represented the Greek intelligentsia of their day. -The Eicureans were materialists... They believed in the gods... but also believed that the gods were so far removed from the world that they exercised little or no influence on world affairs. Their motto for life was... Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. -The Stoics were fatalist. They believed mankind’s fate was so set by the gods... That they could do nothing but accept and resign themselves to live within their situation and circumstance. They believed that self-discipline and denial of the flesh was the ultimate good.
Even though the two philosophies represented opposite views in the Greek culture, both were at extremes with Christian doctrine... For instance... -Neither acknowledged the need for a personal God. -Neither believed in the resurrection... Or a conscious existence after death. -Neither believed that truth could be defined in absolute terms. So, speaking to the Areopagus, would be much like speaking to a group of intellectual agnostics and atheists who were only interested in the latest new idea and philosophy.
Go with me now to Athens... This time, it is 600 years before Paul is invited to speak on Mars Hill. Athens has been devastated by a plague... People are dying... -Hundreds at a time. -Dead bodies are everywhere... The city streets are filled with them. -Mournings from pain... shrieks of fear... cries of mourning... can be heard from every doorway, as another falls victim to the gruesome plague. There was no reprieve in sight... The plague was relentless.
WHAT DO YOU DO?? Well... The Athenians do what most of us do when life tumbles in, and we are desperate... When the situation appears hopeless and we are helpless... WE TURN TO GOD.
The problem in Athens is... That she is bathed in idolatry... So who does one turn to? There is an idol on every street corner. The Agora... The marketplace is lined with alters to the gods. The Acropolis was dedicated to the national worship of Grecian deities. Truth was... worldwide... Athens was unrivalled for her idolatry.... She was smothered in idols.
History tells us that one day... A lone messenger... A stranger walked into town. He is there on a mission of mercy... He goes straight to the city fathers. His name was Epimendes... EP-A-MEN-DES. He was a Createn Poet and Philosopher.
The city fathers listened as he spoke. He instructed them to release black and white sheep on Mars Hill and as they wandered from the summit... wherever they laid down to rest, they were to be offered on the alter located closest to them. If there was no alter... Then one was to be built... And the sheep offered to the UNKNOWN GOD. It was done, as the old man instructed, and the plague subsided. Athens was filled with thanksgiving... There was rejoicing in the streets. As a result, Athens is also filled with something else... Hundreds of alters to the UNKNOWN GOD. Six hundred years later... As Paul was searching for what to say to this gathering of Greek intellectuals... He stumbles across one of these old alters, still standing as a memorial to the UNKNOWN GOD... From the days of the plague. So, this becomes the focus of his sermon.
In effect... Paul said... Listen to me and you will know the God that you thought was UNKNOWN AND UNKNOWABLE.
Paul’s sermon can be read in less than two minutes... But I believe it has a lot to say to us as we get ready to celebrate Memorial Day.... Let’s notice some thoughts briefly.
First... This Athenian memorial reminds us that we need to know about God. Paul tells us in Ephesians two... That salvation is by grace through faith. The Hebrews writer says... That without faith it is impossible to please God. Romans 10 informs us that... Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. John wrote... To all who received Him... To those who believed in His name... He gave them the right... the authority... the power to become children of God.
The anthesis of faith is ignorance. Three times in the sermon... Paul alludes to their ignorance. -In not knowing Him... They showed their ignorance. -In verse 23 their worship was in ignorance. -There was a time that God overlooked their ignorance... But no more. The Athenians needed to know God... Their ignorance was their doom... Because without knowledge... There can be no faith. Nothing has changed in two thousand years... We must know God!! Paul gives us this warning in 2 Thessalonians 1.8... He will punish those who do not know God... And do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
The more we know about God... The better children of His we can be. Philippians chapter two admonishes us to... Let the heart of Christ be in us. You see... The more we know about Jesus... The more we can conform to His image. How can we have his HEART... His attitude... His disposition unless we know Him? No wonder Paul instructs us to study... To show ourselves approved of God a workman that needs not to be ashamed. God help us... This Memorial Day to resolve to be into the Word of God more... Amen?
Secondly... This memorial reminds us that Jehovah God is our creator. Paul’s sermon began where the Old Testament began... in Genesis 1.1. Paul said... Jehovah God created the world... and everything in it.
You see...the Athenians had not made a home for Jehovah God on the Acropolis...instead...He had made a home for them...He had created the earth and everything in it...What a great God he is. I don't know what the Garden of Eden looked like... But I do know this that God has providentially placed us in the most beautiful spot on earth... And I believe he wants us to enjoy it. Church... We were not placed here to... Make more money... Make a great name for ourselves... To impress people with our knowledge... expertise... or accomplishments. God created this planet purposely for us to enjoy... He gave it to us. And to a large extent we ignore it... Get up early enough in the morning to watch the sunrise. Take time to watch the sunset... Smell the roses... They were created just for you... No one else!!
Note that Paul says... The UNKNOWN GOD I am proclaiming to you... Was not... NOT!! created by you... But He made you... He created you. Paul moves from the generic to the specific. Since He made all things... That means he made us. He gives us life initially and then enables us to continue life by giving us breath and all things that sustain life.
Folk... How much do we need God?... Take a deep breath!! God is our Creator... Sustainer... Provider... and Protector. Indeed... It is in Him that we live... move... and have our being. Indeed... Without Him we are nothing... NO-THING! Without Him I would be nothing. Without Him I would surely fail. Without Him I would be drifting, like a ship without a sail.
Church... Think about it... What would life be like if God were to remove Himself from our world? There would be no light... No air... No food... No water... The world would go back to what it was before the creation... A gigantic blob of lifeless nothing.
This sermon reminds us that our God is sovereign. No... God does not control some things... Folk... HE CONTROLS ALL THINGS!! -He controls the rise and fall of nations. -He controls the rise and fall of government leaders Romans 13.2 tells us that... They have been established by Him. Daniel 2.21 says... He changes times and seasons... He sets up kings and deposes them. -He controls nature. -He controls the bounds of our habitation... both geographically... and politically. -He controls the times of our existence.
You see... Regardless of what the Epicureans thought, God did not create this world and walk away... He is still active in the affairs of men... He lives in and empowers his children... Scripture says... He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.
Memorial Day ought to remind us that God is our father, and He is in control of this world and all that is in it... And... And that He is working all thing out to our good... To our benefit. We are reminded that God wants us to seek Him This text teaches us that we have not been placed in this world to seek after material things... education... positions... pleasure... or political clout... etc. But to seek God.
And God promises... That for those who WANT to know Him... They WILL find Him for he is not far from any of us... Because it is in Him that we live, move and have our being. History tell us that it was the Createn Poet EPIMENDES who wrote these words.
Church... I believe this passage to teach that anyone at anytime who wants to know God can find him... And those of us who want to know Him better can do so... Because... God will provide a way... This is His promise.
We are also reminded here that God desires us to worship Him correctly. Having spoken of the nature of God and His power... Paul moves quickly to how we ought to worship and serve Him. You see church... How we worship and serve God has a lot to do with our concept of Him. -A shallow concept of God... results in shallow worship and service. -A proper understanding of God... results in proper worship and service. This was the problem for the woman at Jacob’s well... She didn’t have a proper concept of God. As a result... She did not know how... or where to worship and serve Him properly.
Church... What is our concept of God? Do we understand that Christianity is more than a Sunday morning affair? Do we understand that God is not confined to this building? Do we understand that because of His omnipresence... His omniscience... Because He lives in us... We are worshipping and serving Him in all that we are? -James tells us that... Pure religion... Religion that God accepts is this, To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -Paul says in Romans six... That after baptism... We are to become instruments of righteousness. -In Romans 12... He says that... Reasonable and acceptable worship to God includes our becoming living sacrifices. -In Ephesians 2... We find that God created us... Saved us... To do good works that He predestined us to do. -Jesus contends that as often as we do good things to others... We are doing them to Him. This Memorial Day... Let us learn that Christianity... Worshipping and serving God is more than a Sunday morning ritual... More than coming to church... It is a life to be lived daily.
We learn that God demands repentance. Repentance is a change of HEART... A change of MIND... Which results in a changed life. Folk... We fool ourselves when we think we can be children of God and go on living like we want.
It’s true... We have watered down church membership today to the point that we demand no changed life... No crucifixion of the old man of sin... No transformed, nor renewed mind.
Folk... Repentance was a great need in Athens and it is the great need in Bella Vista today. In Matthew 4.17... When Jesus came preaching... The first words out of his mouth were Repent... for the kingdom of heaven is at hand... I tell you nay... unless you repent... You will perish. Sobering reminder... Sobering reminder. Here is the good news... God is patient and longsuffering with us... Not willing that any should perish... But that all should come to repentance. And He is giving us one more chance this very day... This very moment.
We must never forget... There is a judgment day coming. Paul has spoken of God... -As the Creator of Heaven and earth. -As the sustainer of life. -He is sovereign over all things. -He is a Spirit who is near to all of us. -He is to be the sole object of our worship. -He grants time for our repentance... But there is one more thing we must know... One day He will judge the world. The Hebrew writer tells us that... It is appointed to all men... once to die and then the judgment.
I am convinced that what we believe about this judgment day... Determines to a large extent the kind of people and person we are... Am I right? There have been so many ugly miscarriages of justice in our world today that many have forgotten... Or have chosen to ignore the fact that one day God will set the balances straight... He will punish the wicked... forgiving and rewarding the obedient.
Then Paul says... We will live forever... There will be a resurrection. Paul had these people eating out of his hands so to speak... Until he mentioned the resurrection. You see... The Athenians were so intent on living like they wanted to live... That they chose to ignore the possibility of life-after-life. So... When Paul mentioned it... They walked away... They stopped listening.
Do you know anybody like that today?... I fear we do There are those who are not here this morning... Because they chose to live as they wanted... Ignoring the possibility of life-after-life. Some of us won’t be back tonight... living like we want to. The next time Satan tempts us to compromise what we know to be right... Will we live like we want... Or will we be reminded that there is a resurrection... That we will live forever. And what we believe and how we behave will determine our resurrection destiny.
Well... We must stop... But I want us to know that our God... Jehovah God is a memorial minded God... -He gave Noah’s generation the Rainbow... -He gave Israel Passover... Pentecost... and the Feast of Tabernacles. -He gave Israel a pile of rocks at the Jordan to remind future generations of their crossing.
And He has given us a Memorial Day each week... To remember the gift of His Son -We are to remember His body... and His suffering death on the cross. -We are to remember His blood that was shed there... Blood that purchased our pardon... Blood that forgave and continues to forgive all our sin. -We are to remember with anticipation that one day He will come again to take us home forever.
Let’s REMEMBER JESUS... AS WE PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMUNION SERVICE TOGETHER.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day in our country. We will go to the cemetery remembering those who have gone before us... Anticipating the time when Jesus comes... and the reunion we will have... But... Will we remember that we must make preparations for that day. We cannot be like the Athenians on Mars Hill... We must remember Jesus and be obedient to Him
-If you are not a child of God... Become one this morning by faith... repentance, and genuine New Testament baptism... Immersion in water for the forgiveness of all your sins.
-If as children of God we have sins that need to be acknowledged...and forsaken...let us do this.
-As a baptized believer and a faithful child of His... If you would like to join this church family... We welcome you.
-Or if we just need to remember some things form Paul’s great sermon...
Respond... As the lesson has spoken to you... Will you come?
